1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to a semiconductor device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Discussion of Related Art
With the rapid development of an industry related to memory devices, such as nonvolatile memory devices, the demand for highly integrated memory devices has increased. Conventionally, the integration density of semiconductor devices within a predetermined area has increased by reducing the size of memory cells 2-dimensionally arranged on a semiconductor substrate. However, there is a physical limit in reducing the size of the memory cells. Accordingly, a method of increasing the integration density of memory devices by 3-dimensionally arranging memory cells on a semiconductor substrate has lately been proposed. When the memory cells are 3-dimensionally arranged as described above, the area of the semiconductor substrate may be efficiently used, and the integration density of the memory devices may be improved as compared with a case in which memory cells are 2-dimensionally arranged. In particular, when a 3-dimensional NAND flash memory device is embodied by 3-dimensionally arranging memory strings of a NAND flash memory device, which is advantageous to increase integration density, it is expected that the integration density of the memory devices will be maximized. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a 3-dimensional semiconductor device.